Hayley Moss

Professor Wright
ENC 3331-0M02
10/28/15
Analysis
The problem many citizens of our country face is being without a home. While this
problem is extremely relevant in a lot of cities across the United States, Ive noticed that there is
a large presence of the homeless peopleeven familiesin the Orlando area. In order to assess
the situation of homelessness in the Orlando area, I think that defining the rhetoric surrounding
the situation is very important.
Homelessness can be traced back all the way to the colonial times in America. Back then,
these individuals were called vagrants and were considered outcasts from the community. With
every war in colonial America, the amount of homeless individuals in Americaeven veterans
continued to grow. While many organizations set out to help these members of society, there
wasnt much they could do when the brutal winters came. Throughout time, the amount of
individuals put out on the streets has increased exponentially. In 2014, over 1 million people
were experiencing homelessness in the United States. These individuals can be found sleeping
outside without proper shelter or sufficient nourishment. According to the Council on
Homelessness Report, over 75,000 people can be found on the streets in Florida alone. To me
this number is very shocking. Very often, we dont stop to think about others who are less
fortunate and unable to go home to a bed at night.

How do these individuals become homeless? Many people just assume every homeless
person is on the streets due to something drug or alcohol related. A lot of the time, homeless isnt
caused by what is generally assumed, but by something that can happen to anyone. Loss of
income, divorce, and medical issues can all lead to the increasing rate of homelessness in
America. Along with the many individual citizens who find themselves homelessness, there are
also children and families alongside them. Of the 10,000 people that are homeless in Central
Florida, a good chunk of them are probably families who have children and babies.
But how can we fix this problem? First of all, we need to be able to understand the
rhetoric surrounding this situation. In what ways do people view homelessness? What role does
rhetoric play in this situation? Many people might not think rhetoric has anything to do with
homelessness or any other issue in America. However, by figuring out the rhetorical theories, we
can get a more detailed understanding of the problem and hopefully be able to fix it in the long
run.
Many times, rhetors want to create a type of virtual experience for their audience, this
is called the persuasive continuum. When dealing with the issue of homelessness, many people
want to alter your perception of how you view the situation. I believe that this form of rhetoric is
very important for this specific civic issue. By creating a virtual experience, the audience is able
to imagine little bits and pieces of what homeless families in America go through. Although the
audience cannot truly understand what its like to be homeless, after being put through a
persuasive continuum, they will be able to relate more to this community.
Another important form of rhetoric comes in three parts: power, ideology, and hegemony.
These three things relate very well to my civic engagement project. Power can be defined as the
ability to get things done. With this project I am hoping to be able to reduce the amount of

homeless families on the streets of Orlando. If I put my heart and soul into doing so, I have the
power to achieve what I set my mind to. Ideology is defined as the ideas, values, beliefs, and
perceptions that guide the communitys views on a particular issue. Culture plays a large part in
ideology and causes people to act in a certain way. Upon seeing a homeless person panhandling
for food or money in our community, we are taught to look the other way. As sad as that may
seem, this ideology reflects our culture as a whole. Hegemony can be defined as a way in which
we are limited by our culture. The example I stated earlier about panhandling is also a way in
which we are limited by our culture. While these three forms of rhetoric may seem
unchangeable, we can reshape them based on the changes we make within our community.
A relatively underrated form of rhetoric paired with the issue of homelessness is the use
of visual culture. Visuals are an extremely vital part of an argument. With visuals, the audience is
able to assess the situation with their eyes instead of just imagining it. This form of rhetoric is
especially useful in with the issue of homelessness. Hearing statistics about the amount of
homeless families is our city alone is truly heartbreaking, however, actually seeing them evokes
another kind of sorrow. The visual stimuli in this situation definitely appeals to the audiences
underlying need to help other people.
By looking at all these rhetorical theories, the audience can get a better understanding of
the seriousness of the situation that is homelessness in America.